~$25,000 Home Theater Budget

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

So anyway... as has been said already (and of course you know), a ton of this is subjective. I think you really need to take him out to hear some stuff in person. Your amp choice and budget is going to depend a lot on what kind of speakers go in the system.

If he likes the sound of ML, expect to pay a lot on amplification capable of driving them well with their low impedence rating.

What does the guy have now for his system?

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So anyway... as has been said already (and of course you know), a ton of this is subjective. I think you really need to take him out to hear some stuff in person. Your amp choice and budget is going to depend a lot on what kind of speakers go in the system.

If he likes the sound of ML, expect to pay a lot on amplification capable of driving them well with their low impedence rating.

What does the guy have now for his system?

That's the problem. He's in Detroit, so there's no easy way for me to go and demo systems with him, and he doesn't really have any technical experience, and I doubt he'd want to go demo himself. He did demo Definitive Mythos @ my neighbors house with a Mahler SACD recording which he fell in love with, but that's all he's heard.

He doesn't have anything right now, AFAIK, other then a cheap all-in-one box.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So anyway... as has been said already (and of course you know), a ton of this is subjective. I think you really need to take him out to hear some stuff in person. Your amp choice and budget is going to depend a lot on what kind of speakers go in the system.

If he likes the sound of ML, expect to pay a lot on amplification capable of driving them well with their low impedence rating.

What does the guy have now for his system?

That's the problem. He's in Detroit, so there's no easy way for me to go and demo systems with him, and he doesn't really have any technical experience, and I doubt he'd want to go demo himself. He did demo Definitive Mythos @ my neighbors house with a Mahler SACD recording which he fell in love with, but that's all he's heard.

He doesn't have anything right now, AFAIK, other then a cheap all-in-one box.

I'm kind of worried about this whole situation, but it's his money, right? 😛

I think the saying goes "You can pick your friends, you can pick your speakers, but you can't pick your friend's speakers" 😉

That said, I'm sure anything in this range is going to blow away what he currently has.

So how is this working? Are you going to tell him what to get and then he's going to buy it in Detroit? Who installs it?

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So anyway... as has been said already (and of course you know), a ton of this is subjective. I think you really need to take him out to hear some stuff in person. Your amp choice and budget is going to depend a lot on what kind of speakers go in the system.

If he likes the sound of ML, expect to pay a lot on amplification capable of driving them well with their low impedence rating.

What does the guy have now for his system?

That's the problem. He's in Detroit, so there's no easy way for me to go and demo systems with him, and he doesn't really have any technical experience, and I doubt he'd want to go demo himself. He did demo Definitive Mythos @ my neighbors house with a Mahler SACD recording which he fell in love with, but that's all he's heard.

He doesn't have anything right now, AFAIK, other then a cheap all-in-one box.

I'm kind of worried about this whole situation, but it's his money, right? 😛

I think the saying goes "You can pick your friends, you can pick your speakers, but you can't pick your friend's speakers" 😉

That said, I'm sure anything in this range is going to blow away what he currently has.

So how is this working? Are you going to tell him what to get and then he's going to buy it in Detroit? Who installs it?

Yeah, I am too, since he won't be able to listen before he buys, but like you said, anything he gets he'll be happy with.

As of right now, he wants me to fly to Detroit (all expenses paid) and coordinate from there. I don't mind setting everything up in terms of wiring, etc, but a third-party source WILL be mounting the TV as well as running the speaker wires. I'll bring a few friends to help me out with the rest.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

So you don't think having him go out on his own to listen to some of his own CDs or something is an option?

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So you don't think having him go out on his own to listen to some of his own CDs or something is an option?

I don't think so. He's an older guy (whos clearly made of some money) who I just don't think will want to bother. He's in Israel for a few weeks now on some classical music trip, but when he gets back, I'll give him a call. I think he just wants to do whatever I suggest to him, and stay out of actual product decisions. His money...😛.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So you don't think having him go out on his own to listen to some of his own CDs or something is an option?

I don't think so. He's an older guy (whos clearly made of some money) who I just don't think will want to bother. He's in Israel for a few weeks now on some classical music trip, but when he gets back, I'll give him a call. I think he just wants to do whatever I suggest to him, and stay out of actual product decisions. His money...😛.

Yeah I guess.

Seems dumb to me to get a system that expensive without really caring if it's to your own tastes though. I guess I just don't understand spending $25k on something that you don't care enough about to figure out what you really want.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So you don't think having him go out on his own to listen to some of his own CDs or something is an option?

I don't think so. He's an older guy (whos clearly made of some money) who I just don't think will want to bother. He's in Israel for a few weeks now on some classical music trip, but when he gets back, I'll give him a call. I think he just wants to do whatever I suggest to him, and stay out of actual product decisions. His money...😛.

Yeah I guess.

Seems dumb to me to get a system that expensive without really caring if it's to your own tastes though. I guess I just don't understand spending $25k on something that you don't care enough about to figure out what you really want.

Right, which is what I explained to him. Then again, when you're getting to the point of these costs, everything sounds good. Either way, he probably won't be demoing, but I'd love go around and demo 😛.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

AT is not the place to be looking for hardware in this budget, IMO. I would refer him to a local shop that designs rooms and buildings with one purpose - sound quality. They've probably done it thousands of times and on much larger scales than this. While $25k sounds like a lot, I'm sure those guys can rip apart that price range and feel like it's a budget build and on the cheap side compared to others.

Anyway, that's what I would do - they'll design you a proper room, get room treatments, pick the speakers/amps/etc. and have it all setup. All you have to do is look around and visit a few places, they're all there. I went into one locally and found out the guy browses avsforum.com from time to time. Now that I mention avsforum.com, they have some designers there too - I would consult them.

Please, do not just go picking stuff online and dumping it in this guy's house. I think I agree with the saying that Jello posted: "You can pick your friends, you can pick your speakers, but you can't pick your friend's speakers" 😛

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
I think I agree with the saying that Jello posted: "You can pick your friends, you can pick your speakers, but you can't pick your friend's speakers" 😛

I can see doing it on a lower budget at times and I'm guilt of it myself sometimes, but with a budget like this with the number of excellent options that are out there, I really think it applies 😛

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So you don't think having him go out on his own to listen to some of his own CDs or something is an option?

I don't think so. He's an older guy (whos clearly made of some money) who I just don't think will want to bother. He's in Israel for a few weeks now on some classical music trip, but when he gets back, I'll give him a call. I think he just wants to do whatever I suggest to him, and stay out of actual product decisions. His money...😛.

Are you forgetting something? How did he get rich and good at this? He didn't find a random guy and hand him a budget of $25k and see what he could do with it, he did things himself it seems. If he got rich by doing lots of work and was good at it, I highly doubt he'll just throw away $25k and not bother to give his own input on what he chooses. I recommend you talk to him when he gets back and take him around to some local shops. Going to local shops isn't as bad as people might make it sound... especially for higher end setups when you aren't looking to shave off every 10% of cost or whatever it is. These shops I'm talking about *do not* sell products directly to consumers, they will however purchase them and install when they have designed a proper room/system.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
AT is not the place to be looking for hardware in this budget, IMO. I would refer him to a local shop that designs rooms and buildings with one purpose - sound quality. They've probably done it thousands of times and on much larger scales than this. While $25k sounds like a lot, I'm sure those guys can rip apart that price range and feel like it's a budget build and on the cheap side compared to others.

Anyway, that's what I would do - they'll design you a proper room, get room treatments, pick the speakers/amps/etc. and have it all setup. All you have to do is look around and visit a few places, they're all there. I went into one locally and found out the guy browses avsforum.com from time to time. Now that I mention avsforum.com, they have some designers there too - I would consult them.

Please, do not just go picking stuff online and dumping it in this guy's house. I think I agree with the saying that Jello posted: "You can pick your friends, you can pick your speakers, but you can't pick your friend's speakers" 😛

I actually just posted this on AVSForum about 10 minutes ago 😛. I understand 100% about what you're saying regarding talking to stores opposed to just piecing it together, but they're going to charge a huge premium for doing it through them. The guy I'm doing this for lives in Detroit, and I live in NJ, so that makes it a bit difficult, but I'll call around to some stores in Detroit.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So you don't think having him go out on his own to listen to some of his own CDs or something is an option?

I don't think so. He's an older guy (whos clearly made of some money) who I just don't think will want to bother. He's in Israel for a few weeks now on some classical music trip, but when he gets back, I'll give him a call. I think he just wants to do whatever I suggest to him, and stay out of actual product decisions. His money...😛.

Are you forgetting something? How did he get rich and good at this? He didn't find a random guy and hand him a budget of $25k and see what he could do with it, he did things himself it seems. If he got rich by doing lots of work and was good at it, I highly doubt he'll just throw away $25k and not bother to give his own input on what he chooses. I recommend you talk to him when he gets back and take him around to some local shops. Going to local shops isn't as bad as people might make it sound... especially for higher end setups when you aren't looking to shave off every 10% of cost or whatever it is. These shops I'm talking about *do not* sell products directly to consumers, they will however purchase them and install when they have designed a proper room/system.

Hard to take him to local shops when they're in different states 😉

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So you don't think having him go out on his own to listen to some of his own CDs or something is an option?

I don't think so. He's an older guy (whos clearly made of some money) who I just don't think will want to bother. He's in Israel for a few weeks now on some classical music trip, but when he gets back, I'll give him a call. I think he just wants to do whatever I suggest to him, and stay out of actual product decisions. His money...😛.

Are you forgetting something? How did he get rich and good at this? He didn't find a random guy and hand him a budget of $25k and see what he could do with it, he did things himself it seems. If he got rich by doing lots of work and was good at it, I highly doubt he'll just throw away $25k and not bother to give his own input on what he chooses. I recommend you talk to him when he gets back and take him around to some local shops. Going to local shops isn't as bad as people might make it sound... especially for higher end setups when you aren't looking to shave off every 10% of cost or whatever it is. These shops I'm talking about *do not* sell products directly to consumers, they will however purchase them and install when they have designed a proper room/system.

That's the thing. For whatever reason, he DOESN'T want to get involved in going to stores, especially without me (since I live a good 10 hours away by car).

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Is he the only one that's going to be using the system then?

Spouse / Kids etc? - maybe someone else that's at home might want to do something fun like going out to demo stuff?

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Is he the only one that's going to be using the system then?

Spouse / Kids etc? - maybe someone else that's at home might want to do something fun like going out to demo stuff?

Nope. He's recently divorced and his kids have all moved out and have families.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
AT is not the place to be looking for hardware in this budget, IMO. I would refer him to a local shop that designs rooms and buildings with one purpose - sound quality. They've probably done it thousands of times and on much larger scales than this. While $25k sounds like a lot, I'm sure those guys can rip apart that price range and feel like it's a budget build and on the cheap side compared to others.

Anyway, that's what I would do - they'll design you a proper room, get room treatments, pick the speakers/amps/etc. and have it all setup. All you have to do is look around and visit a few places, they're all there. I went into one locally and found out the guy browses avsforum.com from time to time. Now that I mention avsforum.com, they have some designers there too - I would consult them.

Please, do not just go picking stuff online and dumping it in this guy's house. I think I agree with the saying that Jello posted: "You can pick your friends, you can pick your speakers, but you can't pick your friend's speakers" 😛

I actually just posted this on AVSForum about 10 minutes ago 😛. I understand 100% about what you're saying regarding talking to stores opposed to just piecing it together, but they're going to charge a huge premium for doing it through them. The guy I'm doing this for lives in Detroit, and I live in NJ, so that makes it a bit difficult, but I'll call around to some stores in Detroit.

You have to start somewhere - I would go and talk to them, you have nothing to lose by doing that. You're on AT anyway, might as well venture around to some local places and see what they say.

Have you talked to this guy about what kind of room this will be put in? Get dimensions, what kind of walls/flooring/etc. it has, and ask him if his music needs to hit any very low sounds like pipe organs.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
AT is not the place to be looking for hardware in this budget, IMO. I would refer him to a local shop that designs rooms and buildings with one purpose - sound quality. They've probably done it thousands of times and on much larger scales than this. While $25k sounds like a lot, I'm sure those guys can rip apart that price range and feel like it's a budget build and on the cheap side compared to others.

Anyway, that's what I would do - they'll design you a proper room, get room treatments, pick the speakers/amps/etc. and have it all setup. All you have to do is look around and visit a few places, they're all there. I went into one locally and found out the guy browses avsforum.com from time to time. Now that I mention avsforum.com, they have some designers there too - I would consult them.

Please, do not just go picking stuff online and dumping it in this guy's house. I think I agree with the saying that Jello posted: "You can pick your friends, you can pick your speakers, but you can't pick your friend's speakers" 😛

I actually just posted this on AVSForum about 10 minutes ago 😛. I understand 100% about what you're saying regarding talking to stores opposed to just piecing it together, but they're going to charge a huge premium for doing it through them. The guy I'm doing this for lives in Detroit, and I live in NJ, so that makes it a bit difficult, but I'll call around to some stores in Detroit.

You have to start somewhere - I would go and talk to them, you have nothing to lose by doing that. You're on AT anyway, might as well venture around to some local places and see what they say.

Have you talked to this guy about what kind of room this will be put in? Get dimensions, what kind of walls/flooring/etc. it has, and ask him if his music needs to hit any very low sounds like pipe organs.

I haven't had a chance to talk any specifics with him yet, as he left for Israel the night I met him (and demoed my neighbors system for him). All he said was that he wanted the system, and how much he can spend, and I gave him a rough estimate. He told me he'd get into contact with me when he returned.

 

[alphatarget1]

why not get a native 1080p display?

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
why not get a native 1080p display?

That's what the Panasonic 65" set is 🙂. It's also a lot more expensive then a Pioneer 60", and the Pioneer's are in a word: gorgeous.

We'll probably go with the Panasonic just because it's a little bigger, and has the 1080p. I'm normally not a big 1080p guy, but on a 65" set, I'm sure it helps.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I don't think there's a reason to avoid 1080p with a budget like this 😛

Just to throw out one more idea, the company that has won me over personally with their products and customer service is AV123.

http://www.av123.com/index.php

Although a lot of their focus is for lower budgets, they do have some options that could be added to your list.

If $10k is going to the display, $10k for receiver (or hopefully separates) and speakers/sub seems like what's left over.

AV123 has some big products that are coming out for 2007. A new Rocket center channel and Ref center channel are both in the works.
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17770

As is their new BMF-1 subwoofer
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13824

The rocket line has traditionally been their HT set of speakers. If a well equiped 7.1 system is put together with a RSC500 center, RS1000s up front with dipoles for the surround/rears and dual BMFs (depending on if the room needs it), that would run around $7k leaving $3k for the prepro and amp.

Emotiva was sold through AV123 until recently when they split off to be independent.

Outlaw is another popular option in that pricerange.

Receivers of course tend to be a bit ahead of the game vs. prepro units, so using a receiver as a prepro and just buying a nice amp on its own (or perhaps even for just the all important front three speakers) could be another option.

I'm just thinking that if this guy is not going to hear the stuff at all, buying online might work as well as anything. AV123 has excellent customer service and if he was not happy with something, they would do everything to make him happy. I'm honestly not sure on the demo policy from some of these other options through retailers, but AV123 and other online brands have demo periods so he could try the products out in his home to decide if he likes them. He would lose shipping (which of course would not be trivial in a situation like this) but he could have everything delivered to his door and not have to go out at all to stores if this is really a priority for him.

Just a thought since one of the main disadvantages to buying online is that you cannot demo before you buy unless you find a current owner and do a demo of their setup (like I did). If he's not going to demo... then seems like a viable option for him.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I don't think there's a reason to avoid 1080p with a budget like this 😛

Just to throw out one more idea, the company that has won me over personally with their products and customer service is AV123.

http://www.av123.com/index.php

Although a lot of their focus is for lower budgets, they do have some options that could be added to your list.

If $10k is going to the display, $10k for receiver (or hopefully separates) and speakers/sub seems like what's left over.

AV123 has some big products that are coming out for 2007. A new Rocket center channel and Ref center channel are both in the works.
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17770

As is their new BMF-1 subwoofer
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13824

The rocket line has traditionally been their HT set of speakers. If a well equiped 7.1 system is put together with a RSC500 center, RS1000s up front with dipoles for the surround/rears and dual BMFs (depending on if the room needs it), that would run around $7k leaving $3k for the prepro and amp.

Emotiva was sold through AV123 until recently when they split off to be independent.

Outlaw is another popular option in that pricerange.

Receivers of course tend to be a bit ahead of the game vs. prepro units, so using a receiver as a prepro and just buying a nice amp on its own (or perhaps even for just the all important front three speakers) could be another option.

I'm just thinking that if this guy is not going to hear the stuff at all, buying online might work as well as anything. AV123 has excellent customer service and if he was not happy with something, they would do everything to make him happy. I'm honestly not sure on the demo policy from some of these other options through retailers, but AV123 and other online brands have demo periods so he could try the products out in his home to decide if he likes them. He would lose shipping (which of course would not be trivial in a situation like this) but he could have everything delivered to his door and not have to go out at all to stores if this is really a priority for him.

Just a thought since one of the main disadvantages to buying online is that you cannot demo before you buy unless you find a current owner and do a demo of their setup (like I did). If he's not going to demo... then seems like a viable option for him.

Damn YoYo, thanks. Have you heard AV123's stuff with classical? Keep in mind this is going to be 25% movies, 75% music.

How exactly do I go about connecting the amp to the setup? Speakers hook up to amp, which goes to the recevier, correct?

Edit: Eek, brainfart. Pre-outs FTW.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I don't think there's a reason to avoid 1080p with a budget like this 😛

Just to throw out one more idea, the company that has won me over personally with their products and customer service is AV123.

http://www.av123.com/index.php

Although a lot of their focus is for lower budgets, they do have some options that could be added to your list.

If $10k is going to the display, $10k for receiver (or hopefully separates) and speakers/sub seems like what's left over.

AV123 has some big products that are coming out for 2007. A new Rocket center channel and Ref center channel are both in the works.
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17770

As is their new BMF-1 subwoofer
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13824

The rocket line has traditionally been their HT set of speakers. If a well equiped 7.1 system is put together with a RSC500 center, RS1000s up front with dipoles for the surround/rears and dual BMFs (depending on if the room needs it), that would run around $7k leaving $3k for the prepro and amp.

Emotiva was sold through AV123 until recently when they split off to be independent.

Outlaw is another popular option in that pricerange.

Receivers of course tend to be a bit ahead of the game vs. prepro units, so using a receiver as a prepro and just buying a nice amp on its own (or perhaps even for just the all important front three speakers) could be another option.

I'm just thinking that if this guy is not going to hear the stuff at all, buying online might work as well as anything. AV123 has excellent customer service and if he was not happy with something, they would do everything to make him happy. I'm honestly not sure on the demo policy from some of these other options through retailers, but AV123 and other online brands have demo periods so he could try the products out in his home to decide if he likes them. He would lose shipping (which of course would not be trivial in a situation like this) but he could have everything delivered to his door and not have to go out at all to stores if this is really a priority for him.

Just a thought since one of the main disadvantages to buying online is that you cannot demo before you buy unless you find a current owner and do a demo of their setup (like I did). If he's not going to demo... then seems like a viable option for him.

Damn YoYo, thanks. Have you heard AV123's stuff with classical? Keep in mind this is going to be 25% movies, 75% music.

How exactly do I go about connecting the amp to the setup? Speakers hook up to amp, which goes to the recevier, correct?

I don't listen to classical and even if I just put some on to listen, I wouldn't really have an opinion of how it sounds vs. other options.

I used to play the violin (turned into forced to play), and my taste for classical music went down the tubes.

AV123 also has
the strata mini
and
line-source
That are more geared towards music. Afaik, there is no center channel announced to match either of those products.

This is probably going to come off sounding offensive... but if you don't know how to hook up an amp, I would be worried about having you in charge of spending $25k worth of HT equipment. Also the speakers being pushed right up against the wall in the other setup and not knowing that it helps also had me worried before this point but I didn't mention that earlier.

I basically learned a lot from online sources honestly and although I do have a pretty good handle on basic audio stuff for more average AT budgets, I would not feel comfortable being the one in charge of anything more than suggestions for a $25k setup.

That said, yes... you hook up an amp to the pre-outs of either a receiver or a pre-pro. RCA connections tend to be used on more low-end stuff with XLR balanced connections being a step above that.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I don't think there's a reason to avoid 1080p with a budget like this 😛

Just to throw out one more idea, the company that has won me over personally with their products and customer service is AV123.

http://www.av123.com/index.php

Although a lot of their focus is for lower budgets, they do have some options that could be added to your list.

If $10k is going to the display, $10k for receiver (or hopefully separates) and speakers/sub seems like what's left over.

AV123 has some big products that are coming out for 2007. A new Rocket center channel and Ref center channel are both in the works.
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17770

As is their new BMF-1 subwoofer
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13824

The rocket line has traditionally been their HT set of speakers. If a well equiped 7.1 system is put together with a RSC500 center, RS1000s up front with dipoles for the surround/rears and dual BMFs (depending on if the room needs it), that would run around $7k leaving $3k for the prepro and amp.

Emotiva was sold through AV123 until recently when they split off to be independent.

Outlaw is another popular option in that pricerange.

Receivers of course tend to be a bit ahead of the game vs. prepro units, so using a receiver as a prepro and just buying a nice amp on its own (or perhaps even for just the all important front three speakers) could be another option.

I'm just thinking that if this guy is not going to hear the stuff at all, buying online might work as well as anything. AV123 has excellent customer service and if he was not happy with something, they would do everything to make him happy. I'm honestly not sure on the demo policy from some of these other options through retailers, but AV123 and other online brands have demo periods so he could try the products out in his home to decide if he likes them. He would lose shipping (which of course would not be trivial in a situation like this) but he could have everything delivered to his door and not have to go out at all to stores if this is really a priority for him.

Just a thought since one of the main disadvantages to buying online is that you cannot demo before you buy unless you find a current owner and do a demo of their setup (like I did). If he's not going to demo... then seems like a viable option for him.

Damn YoYo, thanks. Have you heard AV123's stuff with classical? Keep in mind this is going to be 25% movies, 75% music.

How exactly do I go about connecting the amp to the setup? Speakers hook up to amp, which goes to the recevier, correct?

I don't listen to classical and even if I just put some on to listen, I wouldn't really have an opinion of how it sounds vs. other options.

I used to play the violin (turned into forced to play), and my taste for classical music went down the tubes.

AV123 also has
the strata mini
and
line-source
That are more geared towards music. Afaik, there is no center channel announced to match either of those products.

This is probably going to come off sounding offensive... but if you don't know how to hook up an amp, I would be worried about having you in charge of spending $25k worth of HT equipment. Also the speakers being pushed right up against the wall in the other setup and not knowing that it helps also had me worried before this point but I didn't mention that earlier.

I basically learned a lot from online sources honestly and although I do have a pretty good handle on basic audio stuff for more average AT budgets, I would not feel comfortable being the one in charge of anything more than suggestions for a $25k setup.

That said, yes... you hook up an amp to the pre-outs of either a receiver or a pre-pro. RCA connections tend to be used on more low-end stuff with XLR balanced connections being a step above that.

:thumbsup: No offense taken. There will be an 3rd party company doing the installation.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I guess I'm confused.

Do I have this right?

You recommend stuff
He buys that stuff
You fly over there at his expense and other people install it?

I guess I just don't understand why you're going over there. Calibration / optimizaiton?
Just looking from the other threads I'd assume that the installation service would be better qualified to do that.